Washing-machine.



No. 760,942. PATBNTED MAY .24, 1904.

A. N. WOODARDQ WASHING MACHINE. APPLIOATION mum .mw. 4. 1904.

30 MODEL. 2 SHBIITB-SHEET 1.

V I Inventor QMQfl/W Witnesses v y sf I I Attorney No. 760,942. PATENTED MAY 24, 1904. A. N. WOODARD.

WASHING MACHINE.

v AZPPLIOATION IILED JAN. 4. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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2w #1 I v 5 I Inventor Witnesses I v By I I v Attorney UNITED STATES Patented May 24, 1904.

P TENT OFFICE.

ALVIN N. WOODARD, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN H. I GLASENER, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO.

WASHING -IVIACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 760,942, dated May 24, 1904.

Applicationfiled January 4, 1904.

Improvements in Washing-Machines; and I do.

declare the following. to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in washing-machines, and particularly to washing-machines of that class employing an oscillating tub and a vertically-adjustable stationary rubber.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved construction of cover and rubber for machines of this type, whereby the operation of adjusting these parts may be facilitated and certain advantages secured, all as will be hereinafter set forth in the subjoined description and specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a washing-machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is acentral vertical section taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 1, showing in full and broken lines the adjustment of the rubber. portion of .the rubber, and Fig. 5 is a bottom plan View of a portionof the tub and the oscillatory carrier or support therefor.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 1 represents a supporting-frame comprising a rectangular'base having upon two sides upward extensions 2 and 3, the opposite sides being left open for the insertion and removal of the tub or suds-box 4:.

The tub may be of ordinary construction, modified by the application of a number of simple parts to adapt it for application as part of the machine. It is mounted to oscillate or reciprocate in a rotary path upon a rotary carrier 5, having radial supporting-arms 6 and journaled in a hub or sleeve 7, carried by a bar 8, secured to the base of the frame. Springs 9 are suitably connected to the carrier and Fig. 4.18 a detail section througha Serial No. 187,731. (No model.)

ends of the bar and are alternately expanded and contracted by the movement of the tub in opposite directions, the expansive action of the springs limiting the movement of the tub ineither direction and facilitating its movement in the reverse direction, as will be readily understood. For the purpose of enabling the tub to be readily operated a handle 10 is secured upon the side thereof. Any ordinary tub of proper dimensions finay b'eemployed by theapplication of such a handle thereto and of means for connecting the same with the arms 6 of the carrier 5. In the present instance the tub is shown in Fig. 5 as being provided with an engaging member'll, having spaced lugs to straddle one of the arms 6, thereby connecting the tub thereto. These engaging members may of course correspond in number to the arms 6, so as to form a positive connection between each arm and the tub.

A cover 12 is provided to close the top of the tub to prevent splashing out of the sudswater when the machine is in operation. This cover is carried by a triangular frame 13, comprising the bars 14:, 15, and 16. The bar 14 is provided at its ends with trunnions which fit and turn in suitable bearings in the frame extension 2, while the bar 15 is provided at its outer or forward end with an extension 17,

which engages a notched plate or keeper 18 on the frame extension 3 to prevent horizontal play of the cover when closed under the reciprocatory action of the tub. 'The bar 16 is suitably fastened tothe' cover and connects the outer-ends of the bars 14 and 15, thus forming a strong supporting-frame on which the cover is adapted to swing in a vertical plane.

The tub is provided on its inner side with a rubbing-surface consisting of a series of bars '19, radially arranged upon and'securedto the upper surface of its bottom, and coacting with this rubbing-surface is a follower 20 of somewhat less diameter than the c'over 12 and consisting of a circular plate or disk provided.

Stationary members against which the clothes are rubbed by the oscillatory motion of the tub 4.

Arranged upon the upper surface of the said rubber 20 is a reinforcing and carrying bar 23, which is supported upon the ends of a bail-shaped adjusting frame or handle 24, the sides or arms of which are fitted to slide through openings in the cover 12 and bar 16 and also through corresponding openings in bearings 25, mounted upon said bar 16. In order to secure a strong and durable connection between the lower ends of the arms of the bail or handle 24 and the bar 23, I thread the said ends of the handle to receive clampingnuts 26 and 27, the former bearing against the upper surface ofthe bar and the latter fitting in recesses 28 in the under side thereof, so that the bar may fit fiat down upon the rubber 20. In connecting these parts the bar 23 is first secured upon the handle 24 after the latter has been passed through the openings in the cover, bar 16, and bearings 25, and then said bar 23 is secured by one or more screws 29 or other fastenings to the rubber, thereby effecting a firm connection between the parts. The bearings 25 are preferably made of pieces or straps of sheet metal bent into inverted-U form, as shown, such bearings being made of some height in order to secure a proper guiding action for the handle 24 and provide stops to limit the downward movement of the rubber at a predetermined point below the cover.

In the operation of the machine the clothes are placed with the suds-water in the tub 4, the cover closed down by grasping the handle 24 and swinging it downward, this action causing the cover to first swing to closed position and the rubber to then lower in the tub 4 until the under side of the rubber contacts with the clothes. Proper pressure may then be exerted upon the rubber through the instrumentality of the handle 24, while the handle 10 is being manipulated to oscillate the tub. When it is desired to remove the clothes, the cover is swung upwardly by pulling up upon the handle 24. In this operation the preliminary movement of the handle raises the rubber 20 to the dotted-line position shown in Fig. 3, in which it is brought to the proper point to clear the top of the tub when the cover is swung upward, and then the continued movement of the handle will cause the cover to swing back on its hinges to its open position, allowing the clothes to be conveniently removed from the tub and the latter to be detached from the carrier 5, if desired. When the cover is thrown open, it will be seen by reference to Fig. 3 that'the rubber will be supported above the tub, so that the suds-water may drain back from the same into the tub.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and mode of operation of the invention will be readily understood, and it will be seen that the improved construction and mode of mounting the cover and stationary rubber permits of the ready adjustment of the same and facilitates the operation of setting the machine for use and removing the cleansed garments therefrom, as a simple movement of the handle 24 in one direction or the other both raises or lowers the cover and the follower orstationary rubber.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from'the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a washing-machine,the combination of a supporting-frame, a tub or suds-box mounted thereon, a triangular frame hinged or pivoted to said supporting-frame to move toward and from said tub, a cover to close the tub, said cover being fixed to one of the bars of the triangular frame and movable therewith, a rubber, and ahandle sliding through said bar and carrying said rubber, substantially as described.

2. In a washing-machine, the combination of a supporting-frame, a tub or suds-box mounted thereon, a triangular frame hinged or pivoted to said supporting-frame to move toward and from said tub, a cover to close the tub, said cover being fixed to one of the bars of the triangular frame and movable therewith, a rubber, a bar fixed to the rubber and provided with recesses in its side adjacent to the rubber, and a bail-handle sliding through said cover and bar of the triangularframe and provided with clamping-nuts engaging reverse sides of the bar on the rubber, one set of nuts fitting in said recesses, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALVIN N. VVOODARD. Witnesses:

J. H. GLAsENER, BENJ. G. CoWL. 

